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US embassy in Riyadh hit in drone attack, videos of fire, explosion surface; watch
Two drones hit the US Embassy compound in Riyadh, causing a fire, Reuters confirmed. Videos of fire and a blast surfaced.
The US embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was hit in a drone attack on Tuesday (March 3). Reuters confirmed, citing sources, that there was a fire on the embassy compound in Riyadh and the sound of a blast was heard.
US Embassy in Saudi Arabia told Americans to "avoid the Embassy until further notice due to an attack on the facility."
“The U.S. Mission to Saudi Arabia is closed on Tuesday, March 3. All routine and emergency American Citizen Services appointments are cancelled. The shelter in place notification for Jeddah, Riyadh, and Dhahran remains in place and we recommend American citizens in the Kingdom also continue to shelter in place,” an advisory posted on embassy's X handle said.
The Wall Street Journal reported citing The State Department that the embassy was “struck by two UAVs that hit the roof and the perimeter of the chancery.” CNN reported that they were “suspected Iranian drones." One of the sources cited by CNN said that there were no immediate reports of injury.
The initial reports do not mention which group carried out the attack. As of now, no group has taken responsibility for it.
Videos of the Riyadh US Embassy attack was shared on social media:
The Saudi Defense Ministry also confirmed that the attack involved two drones and described the resulting incident as a “limited fire” that led to “minor damages.”
March 2 Aramco Strike In Ras Tanura
On Monday (March 2) a drone strike hit Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura refinery. Iran launched Shahed-136 drones targeting the facility, one of the world's largest with 550,000 bpd capacity and a key export terminal on Saudi Arabia's Gulf coast.
Also read: Gulf of Oman update: US declassifies video of bombing of Iranian vessels; ‘they have zero…’
The strike led to a fire that was quickly controlled and did not result in any casualties. Operation at the refinery has been shut by Aramco as a precautionary measure.
This marks Iran's continued retaliation after the US-Israeli strikes that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran has already hit the US Embassy in Kuwait, and other Gulf energy sites including in UAE, Qatar, and Oman.
